Fixture support



April 1935- J. A. HOEGGER I 1,997,686

FIXTURE SUPPORT Filed June 13, 1935 INVENTOR Jbdfdfi 1Q 19 B ATTORNEYSPatented Apr. 16, 1935 UNITED STATES OFFECE PAT 1 Claim.

My invention relates generally to fixture supports and more particularlyto a fixture support having a supporting member attached to a supportingsurface and a supported member fitting 5 over the supported member andwhich is formed in two parts comprising'a wall flange and a shank.

Previously fixture supports have been made in one piece but these havethe disadvantage of being expensive to produce due to their relativelycomplex form and require considerable forming and machining operations.Also difficulties have been experienced in satisfactorily plating suchone piece fixtures, particularly when using electrolytes of poorthrowing power such as is'the case in chromium plating. Further, it haspre viously been necessary for a dealer in such fixtures to keep on handa considerable stock to supply the trade with all of the forms offixtures desired and this has necessitated a considerable outlay ofcapital in many cases.

One of the objects of my invention is to overcome and avoid thesedisadvantages. Other objects and advantages become apparent from thefollowing description. 7

My fixture support consists in a supporting member having a projectingstem with beveled surfaces adapted to act with a screw to cause adrawing action of the supported member which will later be described indetail and also simul- 13 taneously a rotating action of the supportedmember which brings it into proper alignment and position. The supportedmember consists of two parts. One part is a wall flange which fits overthe supporting member and which is preferably 33 centered by cooperatingembossments and recesses and which also permits the stem of thesupporting member to extend through the plane of its surface. The secondpart of the supported member consists of a shank with a recessed endadapted to fit over the projecting stem of the supporting member andwhich is also formed at its inner end to fit snugly into or against thewall flange of the supported member. This shank preferably has in it aset screw which upon tightening is adapted to bear against the beveledrecesses in the stem of thesupporting member and, if necessary, to movealong the surface of this beveled portion, whereby the shank is drawn orforced against the wall flange, which in turn is forced snugly andsecurely against the wall, and whereby, also, the shank is rotated aboutthe stem until the set screw is seated at a recessed point which hasbeen so arranged as to position the v shank in the desired operableposition. The outer end of this shank may consist of the desired fixtureor, for example, may carry a form such as a lighting fixture.

My structure has several outstanding advantages. For example, the costof manufacturing has been considerably decreased as my wall 5- fiangesare readily stamped or formed by drop forging and the shanks alsoreadily formed by drop forging or casting with a minimum amount ofmachining operation. Also the wall flange can be made in standard designand can be formed to coact with avariety of difierent shanks-forfixtures or fixture supports. For example, one type of wall flange canbe used to coact with a shank for a towel bar, a soap dish, a toothbrush holder or a lighting fixture or even various designs of theseshanks. As a result, a dealer-need carry only one type of wall flange instock and yet with" my device, it is possible to supply a variety offorms of fixtures.

One of the more important advantages, however, of my structure is theease and positiveness of assembly of such a three part structure. Allthat is necessary is to afix securely a supporting wall plate and stemto a wall or other supporting surface, then slip the supported wallflange over the stem and on to the aligning emb'ossments and. recesses,then place the shank of the fixture over the extending stem and tightenthe set screw in the shank. This operation forces the shank along thestem towards the wall and simultaneously rotates it circumferentially tothe desired position. By this tightening operation a firm, snug,nonrattling positioning is given to the supported members. It will alsobe noticed that the increased simplicity of the parts of my devicepermit a more satisfactory and more easily carried out platingoperation, particularly when using a chromium electrolyte. Also, whenthe parts are set in operable position they give the appearance of asingle piece structure. 7 0

Further features of the invention reside in the construction,arrangement and combination of parts, which together with other featureswill be come more apparent to persons skilled in the art v ing, at I0 isshown a supporting surface which may be of any character such as a wall,ceiling, etc. At I I is shown the supporting member, which isillustrated as comprising a wall plate I2 and a grooved stem I3. Thewall plate I2, as seen in Figure 2, is of rectangular contour and fitswithin a recess I5 in the rear of wall flange I6 in a manner so that thewall flange I6 will be properly oriented with respect, to the wall plateI2. In this particular instance, it is desired that the longer dimensionof the wall flange I6 be vertical. For this purpose the ends I1 of wallplate I2 are made closely contiguous to the sides I8 of recess I5, and arib I 9 having an end closely contiguous to a side edge of wall plate I2is provided to prevent the wall plate I2 from entering the recess I5 inany other manner than that shown.

Other arrangements may be provided to insure the proper orientation ofthe wall flange I6.

Wall flange I6 is provided with an aperture 22 at its center. Shank 23fits over the stem I3 and has an end 24 which fits in the aperture 22. Ashoulder 25 is provided on shank 23 for holding wall flange I8 in place.End 28 of shank 23 is adapted to engage or support a fixture or otherarticle and may be of any desired character, shape or form.

To hold the wall flange and shank in position and to quickly andconveniently orient the shank 23 with respect to the supporting memberID and wall flange I6, a combination of sloping surface components andcooperating engaging means are employed.

The stem I3 is shown provided with diametrically opposed longitudinallyarranged slots or grooves 21 for convenience. This arrangement permitsthe shank 23 to be fastened in either of two positions. However, onlyone slot 21 is required.

Slot 21 is of a compound character. It has a surface component 28 whichslopes longitudinally and inwardly of the slot 21 from adjacent theperiphery of the end 29 to an intermediate point 30 and two opposedsurface components 3| which slope laterally and converge inwardly fromopposite longitudinal peripheral edges of the slot 21 toward the bottomof the slot. In other words the slot 21 has inwardly sloping side wallswith longitudinal edges at the periphery of stem I3 which diverge fromend 29 to point 33. This may also be expressed by saying that the anglebetween the two side walls increases from end 29 to point 38. It isunderstood, however, that the side walls need not be plane surfaces.Slots 21 may be formed by any suitable tool.

With this arrangement the fastening member, which is shown as a screw 32threaded in a tapped hole 33 in the wall of the shank 23, engages thesurface components 28 and 30. Because of the sloping surface component28 the shank 23 is forced toward the surface I0 and against the wallflange I6, which in turn is forced and securely held against the surfaceII) when screw 32 is tightened. Since the screw 32 at its end 35 issomewhat narrower than the width of the slot 21 at the periphery of thestem I3, end 35 will enter groove 21 even though the shank 23 is not inits correct position circumferentially of the stem I3. The laterallysloping surface components 3I are arranged so that as the fasteningmember 32 is tightened the shank 23 will be turned to its properposition and will be securely held in such position upon the tighteningof said screw.

As a result no time is lost in attaching and securing the shank 23 inplace because the device is self orienting. Considerable time is savedin attaching the supported member and it is unnecessary to employskilled labor for this purpose.

It should be noted that the screw 32 is the only securing device visibleand that shank 23 may be turned so that it will be hidden from view.

Although the invention has been described in connection with a wallplate and stem it is obvious that another member or members may besubstituted. When the supported member is integral the compound surfaceand the surface engaging element may also be employed to orient the wallflange, in which case the arrangement at I5, I1, I8 and I9 at the backof the wall flange I6 becomes unnecessary. End 24 and aperture 22 mightbe given a geometrical shape other than circular for this purpose.

While the compound surface has been described as being cn the stem I3and the surface engaging element as being on the end of fastening member32, the surfaces of the two might be interchanged. It will be understoodthat fastening member 32 may be of any other character and that its end35 need not turn in the slot 21 for proper functioning of the securingmeans.

The wall flange and shank when separate can be made at a much lower costwithout a sacrifice in quality. Many new shapes are made availablebecause of the latitude afforded in the manufacturing steps. The platingprocess is greatly simplified with a substantial improvement inuniformity of results.

Having described my invention it is obvious that many changes,omissions, additions, substitutions and modifications may be made in thesame within the scope of the claim without departing from the spiritthereof.

I claim:

A fixture support comprising a supporting member having a stem, saidstem having a relatively shallow elongated recess formed therein, saidrecess extending longitudinally of said stem and being of appreciablelength and having a surface component that slopes longitudinallyinwardly toward said supporting member and a surface component thatslopes laterally inwardly with respect to the bottom of said recess, a

supported member having a shank that fits over said stem, and anadjustable fastening member carried by said shank, said fastening memberhaving a slightly rounded bearing surface substantially equal indiameter to the lateral dimensions of said recess and adapted to impingeon said surface components as bearing surfaces to provide a drawingeffect to move said shank longitudinally of said stem and to rotate saidshank suffici ntly to orient the same circumferentially of said stem.

JOSEPH A. HOEGGER.

